Get ready defendants, the trial blitz is here! On April 30, 2021, The Florida Supreme Court implemented a new fast track system with the hope of getting all pending and new civil cases tried as soon as possible. According to the new rules, all lawyers will be required to have their cases ready to be tried after 120 days from the date of filing a new case. Existing cases will be scheduled on a continuous rolling system until each case is called by one of 90 judges in the courthouse. Continuances will rarely be issued, even if key witnesses are unavailable. The Court announced that they expect all civil cases to be tried by 2022, with no exceptions. A link with all of the new fast track rules can be found here:
https://15thcircuit.com/civil-differentiated-forms-and-orders
This news should especially concern to defendant doctors, potential defendant doctors, defense counsel and professional liability insurance carriers. Since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, there have been no medical malpractice jury trials in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach county. This has resulted in a huge backlog of cases. South Florida’s doctors, trial lawyers, and insurance companies will all be tested. Speaking only for ourselves and our law firm, we look forward to the challenge. It will be an opportunity to once again prove our worth to the medical community we are privileged to represent.
Ready, Set, Go.
